Photographs of rare species from unexplored area of Antarctic seabed highlight need to protect life in one of the most remote places on the planet. The images below are the first of creatures found in a previously unexplored region of the Antarctic seabed offering a fascinating glimpse of life in one of the most remote and pristine places on the planet.

The rare species, reports The Guardian, were found by Dr Susanne Lockhart, an Antarctic biologist who visited the seafloor in a submarine last month as part of a scientific expedition organised by campaigning organisation Greenpeace.

Now they are being transported back to the laboratory where they – and hours of footage taken from the submarine – will be examined to reveal the secrets of this unexplored underwater world. It is hoped that some of the samples collected may prove to be new species. Lockhart said the findings hold “great significance for the future of the Southern Ocean.”

“By identifying vulnerable marine ecosystems and registering their locations with CCAMLR (the body set up to manage Antarctic marine life), they can then be incorporated into the mathematical models that are being used to help generate Marine Protected Areas for this region.”

She added: “Therefore, not only is it important for us to learn and understand the invertebrate communities that live on the sea floor around Antarctica but these discoveries can then be used directly to help protect the ecosystem as a whole.”

“Furthermore, maintaining a healthy krill population is as important for the marine invertebrates of Antarctica as it is for the penguins, seals and seabirds,” Lockhart added.

She said she had “found an incredible diversity of animal life on the seafloor.”